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Chicago Triathlon - Olympic Course - Triathlon


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Chicago, Illinois
United States
Life Time Fitness
78F / 26C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 26m 26s
Overall Rank = 70/2630
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 7/257
Pre-race routine:

Very early morning, woke up at 4AM, on the road by 4:15, at the parking garage by 5AM. During the drive in, had my traditional dunkin donuts blueberry muffin and threw in a few sprinkle muchkins for good measure. Rode over to transition, set everything up, and defended my rack until transition closed. I also took time to scout the muddy transition area and map out the best way in and out given the conditions.
Event warmup:

I had nearly two hours to kill from transition closing until wave 21. I watched a few waves go off, very entertaining stuff. Visited the john a few times, and tried to get in a run warm-up while holding onto my wetsuit and gear check bag. It wasn't much of a warm-up.
Swim
  • 29m 19s
  • 1500 meters
  • 01m 57s / 100 meters
Comments:

The first 300 was pretty smooth sailing. My goal was to take it easy and focus on form rather than speed. I wanted to be as fresh as possible for the bike/run. When we got to the half way point heading north the waves really started to pick up and I had to pick up my effort more than I wanted to, but still well within my limits. Because I was in wave 21, I had to pass through a lot of swimmers which made it even more difficult, but still manageable. It was going to be difficult to put up a really solid time in the conditions, so I'm content with my time. You can figure it was closer to 27 minutes flat with a solid 2 minute run to the transition mats.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, I would have preferred to have taken it a bit easier, I knew I spent a couple bullets fighting the waves. Bullets I wanted to keep in reserve for later.
Transition 1
  • 02m 13s
Comments:

I never know how I'm doing in a race until I hit transition and see how many bikes are still there. Since the AG racked together, I was happy to see that nearly all of the bikes still were racked. I got out of the suit just fine, grabbed my stuff and made for the exit. The transition area is massive, I'm actually surprised it only took 2 minutes to get in and out.
Bike
  • 1h 06m 33s
  • 25 miles
  • 22.54 mile/hr
Comments:

Lost my Joule head unit coming up the ramp onto LSD. I didn't realize it until it was too late so I did the entire bike leg without any data. A blessing or a curse, who knows. I put my head down and went as hard as I thought I could for 25 miles. It was a relatively fast bike course and I took advantage of it as much as I could. There was a lot of traffic, many of whom didn't understand where they should be riding. So I did a lot of yelling, telling me to hold their lines, all that good stuff. For the most part, there ended up being plenty of room to pass. I was only passed by three fellows and I overtook one of them a half mile from transition. It was a solid effort.
What would you do differently?:

Well, I sure would like to have my Joule back. I should have just stopped and got the darn thing, a minute wouldn't have made or broke my day as it turned out. By far my best bike split ever, so I'm quite happy with it. I did 1:06 once before but that course was short, so I'm happy with this result.
Transition 2
  • 02m 2s
Comments:

Just amazing that it took me 2 minutes for T2, a statement of just how big transition was.
Run
  • 46m 18s
  • 6.2 miles
  • 07m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

Over 4 minutes slower than I should have been. I don't know if I just went out too hard, overcooked the bike, or if it was just the heat and humidity. By mile two my muscles were starting to cramp and I was forced to back off else possibly ruin my whole race. I tried a few times to bring my pace back up, but every time, I was forced to bring it back down. I got slower as the miles ticked by but was able to salvage a 46 min 10k, by far my worse 10k showing in over a few years.
What would you do differently?:

Not sure, it just wasn't my day I suppose.
Post race
Warm down:

Found some shade and drank some fluids.




Last updated: 2014-08-28 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:29:19 | 1500 meters | 01m 57s / 100meters
Age Group: 12/257
Overall: 253/2630
Performance: Good
Suit: BlueSeventy Reaction
Course: Monroe Harbor. Head south for about 300 yards, turnaround, head north for another 1200 yards. Try not to get wacked by the folks heading the opposite direction and avoid getting slammed into the wall by the swells.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 73F / 23C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 02:13
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:06:33 | 25 miles | 22.54 mile/hr
Age Group: 15/257
Overall: 105/2630
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course: North on LSD to Hollywood with a tailwind, turnaround, come back to downtown, hang a right onto Lower Wacker, around to the southwest side of the loop, u-turn back to Michigan, swing down to lower Randolph, onto the Busway out past McCormick, u-turn back to lower Randolph and into transition.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 95
Turns: Good Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:02
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:46:18 | 06.2 miles | 07m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 14/257
Overall: 118/2630
Performance: Bad
Course: Very flat, should have been a quick run course. A bit of cross country out of transition then straight south on the bike path, around the Shed, south toward Oak St. You swing around after 3 and a half miles and head back north, back around the Shed, under LSD onto Roosevelt, turn onto Columbus where the finish is 50 yards after you turn.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]

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2014-08-28 8:47 PM


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10002525
Subject: Chicago Triathlon - Olympic Course


2014-08-29 12:07 PM
in reply to: #5044727

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Member
54
2525
Subject: RE: Chicago Triathlon - Olympic Course
Good job out there... it looks like we were very close to each other getting off of the bike for the entire run!
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